Sleuth will vet response by school

The state will hire an investigator to look into concerns over how Wai­pahu High School administrators responded, including reportedly failing to call police, after a student told them she had been sexually assaulted by her coach.

Schools Superintendent Kathryn Mata­yo­shi told the Board of Education on Tuesday that the investigator will also look into "the underlying actions of the coach." Mata­yo­shi said the findings will be used to determine whether revisions to policies or procedures are needed.

"We’re looking at what happened. Is there something that we need to change?" Mata­yo­shi said after the meeting Tuesday. She said the DOE is hiring an investigator because "we want to make it a top priority." It’s not yet clear how much the investigation will cost, when it will begin or how long it will take, she said.

Matayoshi said the department’s practice in such cases is to hire an outside investigator to move quickly and to ensure an independent inquiry.

The announcement follows testimony Monday from the Wai­pahu High student in the case, who told the court that Erik Y. Tamura, an English teacher and track coach, molested her during her sophomore and junior years. The 17-year-old, now a senior, testified that Tamura slapped and grabbed her rear end painfully, pulled down her shorts and touched her crotch, and flicked her breasts.

Tamura, 37, faces three counts of third-degree sexual assault. He is free on $30,000 bail, and has been placed on paid administrative leave.

The Waipahu High student’s father said the department’s decision to hire an investigator is a "little late" for his daughter. But he said that if the investigation helps other kids, then he supports it. "We have a system that needs to be fixed," he said.

The student reportedly told Wai­pahu High officials in October that Tamura had sexually assaulted her three times over a two-year period, beginning when she was 15.

Her father has said the school did not call police following the allegations. Administrators instead conducted an internal investigation and found the coach had not done anything wrong, a letter to the family from Wai­pahu Principal Keith Haya­shi said. Tamura continued to oversee his accuser at practices, even after he had been arrested and had appeared in court.